Improved machine for assorting bristles



Unirse 'a raras Parana' l reuen.

lMPROVED MACHINE FOR ASSORTI'NG BRISTLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,256, dated October 30, 1866.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, N. H. SPAFFORD, otthe city and county of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented a certain new and useful Machine for Assorting Bristles according to their lengths, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters-of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure l represents a'view, in perspective, ol' my improved machine, looking at it from the front; and Fig. 2,- a similar view, but looking at it from the rear. Fig. 3 represents a' plan of the nipping` or dragging apparatus detached from the machine, and Fig. et, a vertical transverse section of the same, taken through the lille .r x of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a plan of thc box that holds the bristles while being subjected to the asserting or dragging operation detached fi om the carriage, showing the mechanism used in connection therewith for.

holding the short while the long bristles are being withdrawn therefrom. Fig. 6 represents a vertical tranverse section through the line y y of Figs. l and 2, showing a side elevation of the fork-lever U and its operating cam T. Fig. 7 represents a friction-pl'illey, lever, and

spring detached, and Fig. 8, a side elevationofthe machine on the side of the standard C.

The nature of my invention consists in assorting bristles by means of machinery so as to have them in lots of uniform length. This has heretofore been done by hand-work, a slow and expensive operation.

l will now proceed to describe in detail my improved machine, here premising that the fundamental principle of the invention, on which the whole is predicated, lies in theability mechanically to so arrange all the bristles on a horizontal plane as that they shall rest individually on their buttends, thus causing the upper ends of the long bristles to project beyond those that are shorter, and in this way expose theupper ends of the former to be seized by suitable mechanism for that purpose, and withdrawn from the latter; from which it will at once be apparent that it is necessary for theypurposes of my machine that the brisdes must firstbe arranged with all their butts together before attempting to assort them by it according to their length.

My machine as constructed for this purpose consists of four principal parts, each having separate and distinct functions to perform, but the combined action of the whole necessary for the completion and perfection of the operation, and hence form individual members of a unique whole. Of these the rst consists of a box with suitable mechanism for feeding upv and holding the bristles to be assorted while those of a uniformly longer length are being withdrawn from those that are shorter.` l The second consists of the mechanism that seizes' and withdraws from the box just alluded to long bristles fromY the short ones.,A The third consists of the mechanism which, after the bristles have been fairly withdrawn from the box, seizes and holds them as they are released by the withdrawing mechanism, ready to force them into the receiving-box. And lastly,itccn sists of the receiving-box and its mechanism for forcing the bristles into it andfor retailing them in an erect and compact condition, ready to be put into bundles of the proper size for market purposes. To this end a platform, A, is erected in a substantial manner upon legs or supports a, it in turn'becoming the supportof the frame` work on which the operative parts of the machine are mounted, and consisting of two standards, B and B', secured and firmly braced' together by cross-beams, A an d 2, "and of other two standards, C, connected together by means of an arched cap-piece, C. These standards are securely fastened to the platform A by mortise -and tenon, or in any other known manner.

The standards B and B are connected together at the top byU means of the cross-piece A', in a groove in which is arranged the slidebar F, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. To this bar F, and passing transversely through the groove, is secured a pin, b, the outer end` of which passes through aslot, c, cut or formed iu the upper end of a curved orvbent rocking bar or lever, Euwhich has its bearing or pivotal point near its center on a screw-bolt, d, in thc lower cross-piece 2,-a washer being interposed between the head of the bolt and the lever. On the lower and inner face of this lever E is mounted afriction-roll, which takes into a cam'groove, f, cut in the periphery of the pulley l), by means of which a vibratory motion' s imparted to the lever E, and through it a `eciprocating motion to the slide-bar F.

In the standards B and B are arranged carings for the support ot' a main drivinghaft, M, and on which is mounted the pulley before referred to. while onlthe same shaft, inmediately adjoining the pulley D, between tand the stan dard B', is mounted and secured i cam, g, through which an upward motion is mparted to the lever S. This lever has its 'ulerum at its farther end on the shaft h, for vhich purpose a slot is eilt in its end, so as to mbrace the shaft h, and is there held in place y the interposition of a washer and a pin passng through the shaft. Y

The shaft H has its bearings in the standi-rds ll/ and h erected on the platform A, and :arries at one end the pinion P, to which it is nade fast by the thumb-screw w, and through vhich the feed-box that contains the bristles o bfc assorted directly derives its feed-motion.A

)n the other end of this shaft is mounted a rietion-pulley, R, so constructed as that on he side next the leverS its periphery shall orm, as it were, a flange to admit of its being mbraced between two pins or fingers, fi, so lrranged and secured to the lever S as that, vhen the latter is raised by the action of the :am g, they shall grasp the flange of the pulley and cause the latter to perform a partial evolution, and thus to the same extent rotate he feed-pinion P.

The lever S, being intermittently raised by he cam g, is brought back to its normal posiion, after the passage of the latter, through he agency of a traction-spring, j, whose upper :nd is secured to a pin in the lever S, while he lower is attached to the platform A. The :Xtent of the lnotion of the lever S is regulated )y a stop guide-plate, It', fastened to the stand- Lrd B', this being effected by the screw-bolt )assing through a slot formed in the plate inyo the standard B'. This screw-bolt and slotmables the plate to be raised or lowered as yequired. On the side of this plate is cut or Iormed a vertical notch, c', in which the lever S plays, the extent of its descent bein gbounded )y the bottom of the notch. In this way the listance through which the lever S is. made to raverse is regulated, as, if the plate k is adusted low,it will allow the spring j to depress he lever low, and hence, when again raised )y the cam g, cause the lever to describe a arger arc, and, carrying with it the pins i, thus nove the pulley R, they being mounted on the lame center, through a larger portion of its :ircuit than if the lever, being stopped at a ligher point by the raising ofthe plate 7c, had noved, as it necessarily would, through a unaller arc. Now, as the lever is only raised nce during each revolution of the main shaft ind cam g, it will be apparent that with this rietionalmethod of rotating the feed-pinion l he speed of the feed can be increased' or diminshed without increasing the speed of the main haft, and that therefore this method is better han if a ratchet-wheel had been used in connection with the lever, although the latter could be used, but not with the same degree ot' nicety as the former.

The lever S, as before mentionedis pivoted atits end on the shaft h by means of a slot cnt longitudinally in its end. This arrangement enables the pins t' to grasp the flange of the pulley R tightly on their ascent with the lever, and to loosen their hold on its descent.

So that the pulley It shall not move too freely, a strong friction-spring, XV, is made to bear at its upper end upon the face ot' its periphery, while the lower end ot' the spring is securely fastened to the endof the platform A by means of a screw-bolt.

O11 the main shaft M, adjoining the standard B but between the latter and the forked standard C, is mounted a large pulley, T, in whose face next the standard C is cut or formed a camgroove, Z, which is made to operate a bent lever, U, through the assistance of a friction-roll mounted on a small pin, which is secured to the side of the lower end of `the lever U next the pulley. This beam or lever is of bent or angular form, as shown in the drawing Fig. 6, and has its fulcrum or bearing at or nearits middle on a bolt which passes into an ear, m, which projects from. the standard Bf, and to which it is secured. To the upper end of this bent lever are fastened the ends of two arms, a, arranged one above the other in a horizontal plane, and at sufficient distance apart to permit a free passage between them in the line of their length to the slide-bar F, for which purpose a notch, 0, a little wider than the slidebar, is cut in the edge of the lever U itself,

near its upper extremity and j ust between the arms, the object ol' all ot' which will be hereinafter described.

Immediately between the pulley T andthe standards C is arranged a table or platform, V, having for its support two legs, p, secured to the upper side of the platform A. On the upper side of this table are secured or formed two guideways, q, the outer side of each of which is made of dovetailed form. These take into a groove of corresponding shape made on the under side of atraveling carriage, O, on the upper side of which is mounted the box H, which holds the bristles x, that are to be assorted into lots of nnitbrmlength. Between the two guide-bars q traverses the rack-bar Q, the teeth of which mesh into the teeth of the feed-pinion P, so that the rack-bar, being fastened at its other end to the under side ot' the carriage O, causes the latter to move forward intermittently as motion is imparted to the pinion l? through the shaft h, friction-pulley R, lever S, pins i, and cam g of the main shaft M.

The box H is made-removable from the earriage O, and when mounted on it is held in place at one end by means of a small tongue, r, of metal, which is secured to its bottom, passin g under a clamp-piece', 6, secured to the upper side of the carriage O at its forward end, a notch being cut in the under side of the clamp for the reception of the tongue, while the other end of the box is held in place by means of a slot or notch cut in the side ofva standard, t, erected on the side of the carriage 0, which is made to enib 1ace a pin, ze, attached to the side of the box, H. The box H is of rectangular form, c and t" representing its ends. 0n one side is arranged a door, H', for facilitating the deposition of the bristles in thebox, and which, when closed,is held in place by the stop-pin, w'. On the under side of the end c' is formed an open space between it and the bottom fu" of the box, for the reception of the slide '0"' of the follower 0"", by means of which and the action of the spring Y, the bristlesare compressed between the follower 12"" and end o. To still further assist in the retention of the short bristles while the long ones are bcingwithdrawn from thebox, spearshaped strips ot' metal, or swords, a', are thrust through the bristles immediately above their thick ends or butt. To facilitate the insertion of these blades an opening is inade inthe front end, t, ofthe box and the under side of the follower 11"", but above the upper side of the slide '0"' of the latter, so that once being inserted above the butts or thick ends, they have a tendency to keep down such as are not actually being acted directly upon by the pulling apparatus.

Upon a platform. 1, secured to the rear side of the standards B and B' is secured in any suitable manner a receiving-box, I, into which are deposited such bristlesas have been withdrawn from the box H by the means hereinafter to be described, the arms a and lever u being the immediate means of depositing them in the box I. This box for this purpose is made open at the front en'd, wliileits iear is provided with a cross-piece, 2', through an opening in which is passed one end of a slide-rod, 3, to the other end of which is secured a follower, I', corresponding in size and shape to the internal size and shape of the box. v rlhis plate or follower serves to support the bristles in an upright position as they are thrust into the box I by the action of the arms n, for which purpose a frictioirspring, e, is mounted upon the rod 3, adjoining and bearing upon the inside face of the cross-piece 2', which, by its friction 0n the rod 3, prevents the latter from sliding too freely or easily through the opening in the cross-piece 2' when the follower is pressed upon by the bristles as they are forced into the box by the arms n and during the time they are held there by the slide-bar F.

To the inner face of the framelstandards C are secured guide-strips J and J ',forming with the former guideways' or grooves, up and down which two slide-frames play, the lower or drop slide, 4, of which carries an adjustable standard, 5, and stud-pin 6'. The standard 5 is secured to the slide 4 by means of two bolts, s1, arranged one above the other, passing through a slot, s2, cut or formed in the standard, into the slide 4, two washers being interposed between the bolt-heads and the standard.

By this arrangement is not only firmly held in place, but is rendered capable of being either -is raised and the slide G depressed, acts upon Y the crank-arm K of the nipper-slide G,and causes the latter to turn so as partially to rotate the shaft 9, to which it is attached, for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

The pin Gis acted upon by a lift-cam, 19, mounted on the main shaft M near its end, and serves to raise the drop-slide 4, which, after it passes again, drops down by its own gravity until it rcstsupon the stop-pins c", which project from the lower ends of the guidestrips J and J', ready to be acted upon again by the cam on the next revolution of the main shaft. 0n this end of the main shaft is secured a crank-wrist, ll, on the wrist-pin of which is mounted one end of an adjustable pitman or connecting-rod, N, the other end of which carries the nipper or jaw slide G, for which purpose that end of the connectingrod is pivoted to alug or arm, 12, formed on or secured to the side ot' the slide G, by which means, on the rotation of the shaft M, the slide is caused to move up and down in the guide-grooves formed by the strips J and J' and standards C. A

On the side of the slide G next the receiving-box I is rigidly secured a jaw, G", while another jaw, G', corresponding to the former in size and shape, is pivoted to the same slide by means of an arm, through the upper end. ofwhich the pivotal pin is screwed into the SllilQ.

To theinner face of the fixed jaw G" is secured a strip, 14, of india-rubber or other' suitable and yielding material, while 'the other aw G" is faced with a corres ondinO stri i of J c l p i'luted steel, 15, as seen in Fig. 4t.

To the upper' side ofthe Vibrating -jawA is attached a link, 16, by means of a hooked bolt, 17, through the other end of which link is passed a spring-rod, 18, the one end of which isrigidly secured to the xed jaw G", while the other bears against a stop-pin, 19, which is also fixed in the upper side of the jaw G". By these means the vibrating' jaw, when opened or forced away from the rigid jaw by means of the cam 20 on the shaft 9, is, as released'from the pressure of the cam 20, drawn` back firmly against vthe stationary jaw, and in this way enables tlLejaws to grasp, on the descent ot' the slide to the bristle-box H, such long bristles as may have been by that actinterposed between them, and thereby to withdraw them from the short ones as the slide G is forced upward by the rod N. For the purpose of forcing the jaws apart an adjustable cam-stop, 21, is secured to the upper end of the standard C on its outer side, so as to act upon the arm K of the shaft 9, and through' them forcing the cam 20 to press on andforce outward the movable jaw G'. Haying given a detailed description of the jaws.

various parts of the machine and their relative positions with regard to each other, Iwill now proceed to describe their individual functions and operation.`

The box H is first filled with such brist-les as is desired should be assorted in lots of equal length. This operation is effected by withdrawing the knives a', opening the door H', releasing` the follower 11 from the pressure of the spring Y, and pushing` it back to the end of the box next the spring. Thus arranged, a lot of bristles, with their butt-ends down, are placed in the box and shaken well down, so that the butt of each shall stand on the bottom. The door H is then closed, and fastened, thus contlnin g the bristles in the box. I then compress them with the follower v, again attaching the spring to keep it in place, and thrust the swords a through the upper ends of the butts. This done, the box is charged and ready to be operated upon when putin position on the carriage O, which for this purpose is drawn back from under the To facilitate its withdrawal the pinion P is loosened on its shaft h by undoing the thumb-screw w. As soon as withdrawn the box H is made fast to the carriage O by slipping the tongue runder the clamp-piece 6, and the pin u in the notch of the standardt of the carriage. This effected, the end of the rack q, if out, is geared with the teeth of the pinion l), and the latter again tightened upon the shafts by ythe thumbscrew, and so that the front row of bristles shall be immediately un der the nippers.

At this stage the next to be attended to is to adjust the nipper-jaws G and G to the length of the bristles in the box H. This adjustment is effected by depressing the slide G that carries the nippers until it has reached the lowest point of its descent, when, if thejaws project too far Vbelow the ends of the longer bristles, they are adjusted by unscrewing the bolts in the slots 22 of the pitman-rod u, and then lengthening that rod until the jaws have been raised so as to embrace the ends only of the long bristles. This done, the bolts are tightened, and, so far as the jaws are considered, the adjustment perfected. Then, of course, had the jaws not ha-ve descended low enough, the operation would have been reversed-that is to say, instead of lengthening the rod it would be shortened.

This done, the next point is to adjust the height of the pin L of the standard 5 so that it shall only act on the crank-arm K after the jaws have fairly entered the bristle-box; for, as the action of the pin L on through the shaft 9 causes the pressure of the cam 20 to he removed from the vibrating jaw G', it therefore allows the spring 18 to compress the jaws together, so that, should this be done before entering the bristles, none could be grasped by the jaws and withdrawn. Hence it is necessary to so adjust the height of the pin L as that it shall act upon the arm K as the jaws reach the lowest point of their descent, this adj ustinent being effected by means of the bolts si and slot s2 of the standard 5.

The next adjustment. to be attended to is that of the stop-cam 21, for the release of the bristles after they have been brought by the nippers fairly up to the height, at their buttends, of the bottom of the receivingbox I. Now,as it is desirable that their lower ends should be but slightly raised above the bottom of the box, that they may b e evenly and erectly deposited in it, and as the bristles are of different lengths, it will be apparent that the long bristles will have to be raised higher than the short ones before they are released from the nippers. Hence the stop 2l is made adjustable by means of a slot and screw-bolt, that it may be raised for long bristles and depressed for short oncs, as the crank must not be acted upon so soon for the long as it would for the short ones, the nippers having to ascend higher to make the butt-ends of the longer clear the bottom of the box than it would for the short ones.

All matters now being adjusted, motion may be communicated to the machineI either by the crank-handle m, should hand-power be used, or through a driving-pulley substituted in its stead should other power be used.

We will now assume, for the purpose of illustrating the operation of the machine, that the slide G, which carries the nippers or jaws,

commences to descend, through the action of the crank 11 and pitman-rod a, to which it is attached by the ear, until it enters the upper ends of the bristles in the box H. At this stage the arm K on the shaft 9, which carries the cam 2() of the stationary nipper G, is met by the pin L ou the standards 5 of the slide et as the latter is forced upward by the action, of the lift-cam l() on the pin G', and as the crank K and piu L meet the former is raised, releasing the vibrating jaw G from the pressure of the cam 20, thereby allowing the spring 1S of the fixed jaw G to draw the former tightly against the latter, compressing and holding such bristles as may have been interposed tightly between the fluted steel strip and indiarubber one. This accomplished, the slide G is forced upward, draggingwith it the bristles that were long` enough to project between the jaws, and leaving behind such as were too short. As the pitman-rod n begins to near the upper end of the stroke the arm K is brought gradually against the lower end of the adjustable stop-cam 21, and thus becoming depressed, causes the cam 20 to descend and force apart the vibrating jaw G from the fixed jaw G, thus releasing the bristles which had been carried by them. In this open position the jaws remain until they again enter the bristles, when they are again closed,as before described, and s'o ou does this part of the operation proceed until the whole box has been gone over; but, simultaneous with the operation, as the slide G with its nippers nears the top of its ascent, the cam g acts on the lever S, raising it so that the pins t' t grasp the friction-pulley l?, thus causing the latter, through the rack-bar Q of the carriage O, to move forward the box H so as to bring a new line of the bristles immediately under the mouth of the jaw-nippers, thus effecting the feeding up of the bristles at that time when the others have been fairly withdrawn from the box. Should the feed be too small, the plate k is lowered, and if too great, raised, thus lengthenin g or shortening the arc of the lever S, and, consequently, the motion of the friction-pulley and feed. a

As the nippers G" G gra-dually near the upper end of their ascent, carrying with them the bristles, the arms n n commence to sweep in toward the mouth of the box. As they are about passing under the nippers the latter letgo their hold on the bristles, which are suddenly thrown against the slidebar F. Here the motion of the arms is arrested until the said slide-bar is withdrawn from the mouth of the box, when the arms again move forward, putting the bristles into the box beyond the range of the slidebar F, which is forced back across the mouth of the box in the rear of and holding the bristles in the place, while the arms sweep back over the nippers, ready to repeat the operation. So that the bristles in the receiving-box shall always be kept firmly in place as the slidelis forced back by every successive addition of bristles, the slide has a spring-clamp mounted on its guide-rod 3 on the inside of the box and bearing against its end, by the friction of which on the rod as the latter is forced through it by the compression of the bristles the rod is prevented from passing through fart-her than is actually required for each additional lot of bristles.

I do not conne myself to one pair of nippers, nor to one receiving-box, but may multiply the number as circumstances may require. I can place two boxes similar to the one described within a few inches of each other, with their front or open ends facing each other and their rear endsin opposite directions. Between these boxes the devices for dragging and depositing bristles may be multiplied, so as to do double the amount of work now done with one set.

Having thus described my invention, its various devices, and their operation, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The box H, as constructed with the slide 17 and spring i, as arranged and operated for the purposes set forth.

2. The knives a', as arranged in combination with the box H, for theV purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the box H with the feedcarriage O and slide-table Y, Vthe whole being constructed, arranged, and operated in the manner substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The method of regulating the forward feed of the bristles, without altering the speed of the main shaft, by m'eans of the cam g, the lever S, and pins it', the slotted plate k, spring j, and frictional pulley R, the whole being arranged and operated in the manner substantially as set forth. I

5. The combination of the box H, or its equivalent, with the jaws G and G", or their equivalents, when the former is kept stationary during the descent of the latter, to seize the bristles, and is afterward fed forward when the jaws near the highest point of their ascent, for the purpose described.

6. The slide G andjaws G, the spring 18, cam 20, shaft 9, and crank K, in combination with the adjustable stops L and 21, the whole being constructed and operated in the manner and for the purposes described.

7. The combination of the jaws G and G" with the arms a, the lever U, and slide-bar F, the wholev operating in the manner and for the purposes described.

8. rI he combination of the arms a, of the lever U, and slide-bar F with the friction-slide Il and receiving-box I, all being arranged and operated in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

9. The box I, as constructed in combination with the slide I', rod 3, and spring-clamp c', for vthe purpose of receiving bristles.

10. The india-rubber 14, or its equivalent, fixed to the jaw G, when used in connection with the iuted steel l5, or its equivalent, fixed to thejaw G.

11. The adjustable rod N, in combination with the slide G, as and for the purpose set forth.

12. The slide 4, the cam 10, the adjustable slotted standard 5,operated as and for the purpose described.

13. lhe gear P, the rack-bar Q, the carriage O, and the thumb-screw w, in combination with the shaft h, as shown and described.

14. The combination of the 'box H and its attachment, the platform V, the rack-bar s, carriage O, gear P, thumbscrew w", shaft It, feed-wheel R, friction-spring W, spiral spring j, lever S, cam D, slotted plate K, jaws G G", slide G, connecting-rod N, slide et, lever U, slide Ii, receiving-box, and slide I, substantially as and for the purpose set forth;

N. H. SPAFFORD.

Witnesses:

JAMES WEBB, GEORGE -W. LANDON. 

